A group calling itself “Keep America Safe” has been running an ad attacking Attorney General Eric Holder for refusing to name Justice Department appointees who represented detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The ad, seen below, is charged with high octane rhetoric.
Fox News has since “outed” the DoJ lawyers who worked on detainee cases. We aren’t going to repeat the names here, but we will tell you that the lawyers worked at liberal subversive law firms like Covington & Burling, Venable, Morrison & Foerster, WilmerHale, Debevoise & Plimpton, Sidley Austin, and O’Melveny & Myers. In fact, according to ABC News, 34 out of the 50 largest US Firms have represented or filed amicus briefs on behalf of detainees.
The right of the accused to legal representation and the requirement of lawyers to zealously advocate for their clients are hallmarks of our legal system. To impugn the integrity or patriotism of lawyers who do so is repugnant to the rule of law.
“Keep America Safe”, which was formed in part by Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has no apparent problem with JAG Corps officers defending detainees or the JAG Corps officers who, sitting in judgement, released several. I’m left to believe that this is nothing more than a smear attack on the Attorney General’s office, and by extension, the President. It’s shameful that they would do so by attacking the integrity of some of America’s top lawyers.